And Levy's careful, streamlined flow prevents Free Guy from ever becoming hugely outrageous, zany, or gut-bustingly funny. But bits and pieces do feel borrowed from many, many other movies. The movie's visual effects and production design effectively capture the specific feel of a Grand Theft Auto-like video game (albeit PG-13 rated), which is something most movies have so far failed to achieve.
Comer is also quite wonderful: Molotov Girl/Millie is a fully fleshed-out female co-lead rather than simply a romantic sidekick. He avoids a repeat of his snarky, look-at-me Deadpool humor and nails a new kind of sweet naivete that's not unlike that of Will Ferrell in Elf or Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Reynolds is the real selling point of Free Guy. A tad formulaic and not quite as edgy as it might have been, Shawn Levy's video game comedy still gets by on an unwavering cheerfulness, unvarnished likability, and a steady stream of solid giggles.
